Rivett-Carnac was Senior Strategy Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change. He held this position from 2013 up to and during the successful negotiations which resulted in the unanimous signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016.

In this Ted Talk, delivered just last month, in the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic, Rivett-Carnac makes the case for adopting a mindset of "stubborn optimism" to confront climate change -- or whatever other crisis may come our way -- and sustain the action required to meet the challenges that face us.